‘Israel is Ready’ for Saudi peace, blare billboards in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and DC
The signs appeared as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump
An electronic billboard shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shaking hands with U.S. President Donald Trump in Jerusalem, Feb. 3, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
(JTA) — Amid mounting talk of a peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made his first-first appearance in Jerusalem on Monday — on a billboard.
Giant posters featuring Prince Mohammed shaking hands with U.S. President Donald Trump against the backdrop of an Israeli flag were unveiled in Jerusalem and other cities with the message, “Israel is Ready.”
The billboards also appeared in multiple locations in Tel Aviv and on mobile trucks near Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meetings in Washington, D.C. They are part of a campaign by the Coalition for Regional Security, a group of Israeli security, diplomacy and business leaders formed after Oct. 7 to advocate for a regional defense alliance against Iran and its proxies.
“This is the very first time that the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman MBS, appears on billboards in Israel, itself an historic act,” said Lianne Pollak-David, a founding partner of the Coalition for Regional Security and former advisor in Israel’s National Security Council.
The group called on the American president and the de facto Saudi ruler to “reshape history.”
“Saudi-Israel normalization will transform the Middle East, securing our shared future against Iranian aggression and regional instability. It’s time for moderate forces to come together,” the group said in a statement. “It’s time for a new regional order. The day after is now. We are ready. Israel is ready.”
The group cited a poll conducted last month with the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, which found that 72.5% of Israelis support a U.S.-led plan linking hostage returns, Saudi normalization, a regional security alliance against Iran, and a “path toward Palestinian separation.” The group advocates for the gradual detachment of the Palestinians from Israel, rather than the rapid creation of an independent Palestinian state.
“Israel is ready to declare a separation path from the Palestinians in a gradual and secure manner as part of a regional arrangement,” Pollak-David said.
The campaign comes as Netanyahu prepares to meet with Trump, who views a Saudi-Israel normalization deal as a desired extension of the Abraham Accords between Israel and Arab countries struck during his first term.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism so that we can be prepared for whatever news 2025 brings.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
